We publish 4-5 short fiction collections each year by widely published and award-winning authors. One collection is published by way of our Press 53 Award for Short Fiction, while the remaining story collections come to us by actively seeking out writers we find in journals and magazines, and who are winning other contests, including the Prime Number Magazine Awards (formerly the Press 53 Open Awards).

Prime Number Magazine is our quarterly online journal of distinctive poetry and prose from writers at all levels and tastes. Publishing in journals, magazines, and anthologies is a great way to build your bio, build readership, and meet other writers and editors who will later become your support team.

And check out our free monthly 53-Word Story Contest sponsored by Prime Number Magazine.

We encourage you to visit our website at www.Press53.com and sample our books. This helps support our press and our authors. Also find us on Facebook and give us a 'Like."

2018 Judge for Poetry: Terri Kirby Erickson, author of Becoming the Blue Heron and four other collections.

Submission period:
January 1 – April 15, 2018

Winner and Finalists Announced:
No later than July 1, 2018

Reading Fee: $15

Deadline: Midnight Eastern time, April 15, 2016

How to Enter the Prime Number Magazine Award for Poetry:

Submit one unpublished
poem, no more than three pages, single-spaced in standard 12-pt. type. (Times New Roman, Garamond, etc). Make sure your name does not appear on the page with the poem. Poem must be written in English. Entries will only be accepted through Submittable.

Disclaimer:

Prime Number Magazine and Press 53 reserve the right to extend deadlines if deemed necessary. Multiple entries are accepted with a reading fee for each entry. Simultaneous submissions are accepted but please remove work immediately if accepted elsewhere. Only unpublished works are eligible. Reading fees are non-refundable. Entries with author's name appearing anywhere on the manuscript will not be considered. No refunds will be made. Work withdrawn from the contest will not receive a refund. The winning entry must remain unpublished until it appears online in Prime Number Magazine, Issue 137 (Oct 1, 2018), otherwise the prize and publication will be forfeited. Confirmation of entry will be sent via e-mail by Submittable immediately after submission. An announcement of our winner and finalists will be sent to all entrants via email through Submittable, and posted in Prime Number Magazine, Facebook, and Twitter no later than July 1, 2018.

Prize:

First Prize: $1000 plus publication in Prime
Number Magazine

The poet names, locations, and titles of our finalists will be listed in Prime Number Magazine.

Judging: All work
will be read blind, so poet's name should not appear on the page with the poem. The judge is asked to disqualify any entry that the judge
recognizes, so please use your best judgment when submitting. If you know the
judge in your category and believe he or she may recognize your work, you may
want to reconsider submitting. The judge's complete bio can be found on the Prime Number Magazine website.

Eligibility:
Contest is open to writers anywhere in the world who write in English. Press 53
and Prime Number Magazine editors and
family members are not eligible. Authors who have published a book-length
collection with Press 53 are not eligible. Writers whose work appears in
anthologies published by Press 53 are eligible. The judge agrees to disqualify any
work that, for whatever reason, he or she may recognize, so use your best judgment
when submitting.

Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publisher and Editor in Chief, at Kevin@Press53.com.

Prime Number Magazine
(a Press 53 publication) announces the 2018 Prime Number Magazine Award for Short Fiction! Before
entering, please read the following guidelines carefully.

2017 Judge for Short Fiction: Clint McCown, author of The Weatherman and Haints.

Submission period:
January 1 – April 15, 2018

Winners and Finalists Announced:
No later than July 1, 2018

Reading Fee: $15

Deadline: Midnight Eastern time, April 15, 2016

How to Enter the Prime Number Magazine Award for Short Fiction:

Submit one unpublished
work of fiction from 53 to 5,300 words, double-spaced in standard 12-pt. type. (Times New Roman, etc). Make sure your name does not appear on the manuscript. The story must be written in English. Entries are only accepted through Submittable.

Disclaimer:

Prime Number Magazine and Press 53 reserve the right to extend deadlines if deemed necessary. Multiple entries are accepted with a reading fee for each entry. Simultaneous submissions are accepted but please remove work immediately if accepted elsewhere. Only unpublished works are eligible. Reading fees are non-refundable. Entries with author's name appearing anywhere on the manuscript will not be considered. No refunds will be made. Work withdrawn from the contest will not receive a refund. The winning entry must remain unpublished until it appears online in Prime Number Magazine, Issue 137 (Oct 1, 2018), otherwise the prize and publication will be forfeited. Confirmation of entry will be sent via e-mail by Submittable immediately after submission. An announcement of our winners and finalists will be sent to all entrants via email through Submittable, and posted in Prime Number Magazine, Facebook, and Twitter no later than July 1, 2018.

Prizes:

First Prize: $1000 plus publication in Prime
Number Magazine.

The author name, location, and story title of our finalists will appear in Prime Number Magazine.

Judging: All entries will be read blind. The judge is asked to disqualify any entry that the judge
recognizes, so please use your best judgment when submitting. If you know the
judge and believe he or she may recognize your work, you may
want to reconsider submitting. The judge's complete bio can be found on the Prime Number Magazine website.

Eligibility:
Contest is open to writers anywhere in the world who write in English. Press 53
and Prime Number Magazine editors and
family members are not eligible. Authors who have published a book-length
collection with Press 53 are not eligible. Writers whose work appears in
anthologies published by Press 53 are eligible. The judges agrees to disqualify any
work that, for whatever reason, he or she may recognize, so use your best judgment
when submitting.

Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publisher and Editor in Chief, at Kevin@Press53.com.

Entries
will only be accepted through Submittable, your online
submissions manager.

Final Judge: for February 2018 will be announced shortly

Winner Announced: No later than April 1, 2018 (probably earlier)

Guidelines:

Submit
one unpublished story that is no more than 751 words, double-spaced in 12-pt.
type with numbered pages. Multiple entries require separate reading fees.

Reading
fee is $7 per entry and is nonrefundable.

The
judging process is “blind,” so author’s name should not appear anywhere on or
in the story.

Writer
will be prompted by Submittable to give name, bio, and contact information on a cover
sheet separate from the story.

Open
to any writer anywhere in the world whose entry is unpublished and written in
English.

Authors who have published a book with Press 53 are not eligible to enter.

Entries
will only be accepted through Submittable, your online
submissions manager. Requests to open your entry for editing via Submittable
cannot be accepted after the deadline.

Writer
is asked to withdraw the submission through Submittable should it be accepted
for publication elsewhere. If entry is withdrawn, reading fee is nonrefundable
and entry cannot be replaced with another piece.

The
winning story must remain unpublished until it appears in Prime Number
Magazine, otherwise the prize and publication will be forfeited.

Cash prize awarded upon publication.

​

Prime Number Magazine is granted First Serial Rights. All rights revert back to author upon publication.

Confirmation
of entry will be sent via e-mail by Submittable immediately after submission.

An
announcement of our winner will be sent to all entrants via email through
Submittable, and posted on Facebook and Twitter.

Reporting Time: Poets will receive an acceptance or rejection no later than one month prior to publication date. Submissions will open every quarter with a new guest editor. Poets are encouraged to submit again during the open submission periods. Please limit your submissions to one poem per submission period.

Reading Fee: None

Submit one unpublished poem, no more than three pages, written in English in a standard 12-pt. font (Times, Garamond, etc) in whatever style you wish to see the poem presented to readers. Please limit your submission to one poem per submission period.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted but please withdraw work immediately through Submittable if accepted elsewhere. Only unpublished works will be considered.

Eligibility: Submissions are open to writers anywhere in the world who write in English.

Rights:Prime Number Magazine will be granted First Serial Rights, including the right to permanently archive the accepted poem. After the work is published, all rights revert back to the author.

Payment: Writers living in the United States will receive a free copy of the guest judge's book from Press 53. Writers living outside the United States receive no compensation other than publication.

Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publisher and Editor in Chief, at Kevin@Press53.com.

Reporting Time: Writers will receive an acceptance or rejection no later than one month prior to publication date. Submissions will open every quarter with a new guest editor. Writers are encouraged to submit again during the open submission periods. Please limit your submissions to one story per submission period.

Reading Fee: None

Submit one unpublished story, no more than 5303 words, written in English and double spaced in a standard 12-pt. font (Times, Garamond, etc). Please limit your submissions to one story per submission period.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted but please withdraw work immediately through Submittable if accepted elsewhere. Only unpublished works will be considered.

Eligibility: Submissions are open to writers anywhere in the world who write in English.

Rights:Prime Number Magazine will be granted First Serial Rights, including the right to permanently archive the published story. After the work is published, all rights revert back to the author.

Payment: Writers living in the United States will receive a free copy of the guest judge's book from Press 53. Writers living outside the United States receive no compensation other than publication.

Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publisher and Editor in Chief, at Kevin@Press53.com.